Damariscotta River Grill hosts its annual Photography Show featuring Jim Amaral, Jim Nyce and David Pinkham.  The exhibit will be on display  April 30 - June 10. The “Art at the Grill” opening reception is Wednesday, May 1,  from 4 - 5:30 p.m.  Stop in to meet the photographers and learn more about their diverse styles and stories, while savoring delicious hors d’oeuvres.  

Jim Amaral, the founder of Borealis Breads and pioneering baker who launched the local grain movement over 20 years ago, shares his unique perspective on today’s local grain renaissance. His photos document the work of the farmers, millers, and bakers growing and transforming locally grown grains into breads with a distinctive Maine character. Through the photos one can explore the complex web of activities that it takes to put a simple loaf of bread on our tables. The images capture the gritty realities of working on farms, in flour mills, and bakeries. Featured enterprises in the photos include Aurora Mills and Farm in Linneus, Songbird Farm in Unity, Grains Milling in Skowhegan, Hootenanny Bread of Damariscotta Mills, and Borealis Breads in Waldoboro.

Jim Nyce left the corporate world after 35 years, moving to Cushing. He has thousands of images to harvest, many from summers in Maine. He now has time for both new explorations with his camera, and for building discipline and new skills in digital editing and printing. Jim shares, “The world around us is 360 degrees of totally immersive color, form, and motion; in a constant state of change.  My camera sees only little frozen rectangles of that visual cacophony.  But far from that being a liability, it enables me to really focus and seek out the “choice bits” of the world – fixed fragments which for me represent beauty, mystery, and/or wonder that could easily otherwise pass by unnoticed.  I’m fascinated by breaking the bonds of context, serendipitous design, color relationships, visual layers, and textural elements which can transcend the two dimensional nature of my images.  For me, photography is a powerful tool for my continuing discovery of beauty in apparently mundane and unremarkable fragments of the world.”

David Pinkham, a former educator, has rediscovered photography which has opened a myriad of opportunities for travel, exploration and creative expression. David shares, “Digital photography can make almost anyone a photographer but not an artist. Over the past 12 years I have enrolled in numerous classes/workshop to improve my ability to use a camera and to “develop” my images.  True artistry comes from within and not from a camera. And it has been that journey – discovering the artistry – that has been both challenging and rewarding.  No longer is a camera taking pictures for me. I am using the camera to capture images I first feel and then see. I want to create art where the process starts in my soul and not in my head. My camera and the software applications I use are tools; like a paintbrush for a painter or a chisel for a sculptor.” David first came to Maine in the late 1960’s and is interested in portraying an artistic, versus iconic, viewpoint of Maine. He will also exhibit images from Cuba that depict the culture and survival of the people.

Call the Damariscotta River Grill for more information 563-2992, or visit our Facebook page. The Grill is located on Main Street, Damariscotta.